Singapore Doctors Must Display Rx Fees

Singapore's Ministry of Health has issued a new set of regulations to all doctors concerning the display of prescription fee information which they convey to patients through signboards or counter-top cards in their clinics.

A government spokesman has said that fees should be displayed prominently and that patients should be informed, verbally if necessary, if fees for prescriptions, medications, procedures and investigations are charged separately.

A survey by the Singapore Medical Association has indicated that a doctor would need to charge S$18-S$20 ($12.84-$14.27) in consultation fees to earn enough to cover costs and take home an income of S$10,000 a month. The SMA recommends fees of S$18-S$26 for short consultations and S$25-S$55 for long consultations as reasonable, and forecasts that general practitioners will see fewer patients in the future as more doctors enter the workforce. The survey polled over 200 GPs on practice costs, workload and expected salary.